Mechanical toy



June 20, 1933. 5 L LONG 1,914,515

MECHANICAL TOY Filed Sept. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 S, L. LONG MECHANICAL TOY June 20,1933.

Filed Sept. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 20, 1933 'NTE STATS PATENT OFFQ f' SIDNEY L. LONG, OF MINNEAEOLIS, MINNESOTA MECHANICAL TOY My present invention provides an improved self-contained travelling figure or object especially intended and adapted for use as a toy and which, when travelling, imitates the movements of the animal or object that it is designed to represent.

Generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described lo and defined in the claims.

As herein generically used, the term body means a frame or member that is adapted to be propelled by movements produced within itself, but which is preferably designed to represent an animate object; the term legs means vibratory or oscillatory movements by the movements of which, travel of the object is produced; the term feet or foot members designates portions at the i@ lower ends of the legs and which are equipped with rollers or wheels arranged to freely rotate in one direction only so that travel of the object may be produced by the vibratory or oscillatory movements of the legs or leg mem- 5 bers.

In this improved mechanical figure, herein usually designated as a toy, although it may be made in various different sizes, the legs are given oscillatory or vibratory forward i? or rearward movements in reverse order and the shoes are provided with rollers that freely7 rotate under forward movement, but are restricted frictionally or positively against ref verse movements.

l In the preferred form of thetoy, the legs are made up of parallel bars, to the lower ends of which are pivotally connected wheelequipped shoes; and in such preferred arrangement the legs are given oscillatory inoiv'emcnts by a motor such as spring-actu,n ated clock mechanism, and the shoes are pron vided with front and rear rollers or wheels so that the object is adapted to be supported in ric an upright position Vwhile being propelled forward. ln the arrangement just indicated, the roller-equipped Vslices give much the appearance rof'roller-skates, and in the travel of the figure, the leg movements closely imitate movements of the legs of a person on roller-skates.v 1n avinodified form of the device, the slices are provided each with one roller or wheel and the figure is provided with a third or steering wheel, preferably at the rear, to sustain the figure in an upright position while travelling; and this third wheel is preferably made adjustable so that the figure may be caused to travel either straight ahead or on a circular line.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indin cate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the toy designed as above first indicated, some parts being broken away and some parts being in section;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, some parts being removed;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the body portion and mechanism of the device shown in Fig. 1, the outer shell or dress portion and parts representing the figure or design of the toy being removed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section with part-s broken away showing one of the roller-equipped shoes and lower portion of one leg of the toy shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective showing a modified form of the toy above referred to, but with the dress or outer covering and object-representing portions removed;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are vertical sections taken on the line 7 8 of Fig. 5, illustrating the action of the roller or wheel of the shoe shown in Fig. 5.

Referring first to the toy shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the numeral 10 indicates the rectangular body frame within which is secured a rectangular motor frame 11 on which latter a spring motor mechanism of the clock motor type is mounted. As the construction and operation of a spring motor mechanism of the above type is well known, the parts thereof may be briefly designated as follows: A motor spring 12 works through speed multiplying gears 18, drives a worm gear 13a carried by a crank shaft 14. The ends of shaft 14 work through the sides of frame 10 and at their outer ends are provided with crank or wrist pins 15, set the one 180 degrees ahead of the other. form gear 13a, through a worm-equipped shaft 16, drives a fan blade 17, the function of which is to retard the movement of the crank or wrist pins 15. The legs of this device are made up of parallel bars 18, the upper ends of which are pivotcd at 19 to the outer sides of the frame 1() and the intermediate portions of which are held against lateral movements and work freely in guide-ways formed by metallic straps 20 secured on the outer sides of the frame 10 near the lower portion thereof. These bars 18 are preferably light metallic channels, the channels of which face inward so that the wrist pins 15 engage one with the channel of one bar 18 of each leg.

The feet or foot-forming members 21 of this device are shown as longitudinally slotted narrow flat members, to the intermediate portions of which the lower ends of the respective leg bars 18 are pivoted at 22. These shoes are provided with front rollers 23 and rear rollers 24, that work in the slotted ends of said shoes and are provided with spindles 25 journaled in short longitudinal slots 26 formed in the sides of the said shoes. When the rollers or wheels 23 are forced forward, they engage frictionally with brake or stop members shown as in the form of small bolts 27 applied through the front ends of the shoes. The rear wheels 24 are shown as peripherally notched or serrated and they are so arranged that when moved forward, their notched peripheries will engage wit-h small lock clips 28 applied on the rear portions of the shoes. When the rollers 23 and 24 are moved rearward, they are disengaged from their co-operating brake or stop members and are then mounted for free rotation.

Obviously, if with the spring motor described, the fan blade 17 is held against rotation, the motor mechanism will be stopped, and there will be no leg movement then produced. To provide means for thus locking the motor with the spring wound under tension by the customary or any suitable means, I have shown a simple form of lock device comprising a lever 27a pivoted to the frame 11 and provided with projecting arms 27 and 29, best shown in Fig. 3. The end of arm 29 is connected to an actuating rod or slide 30 mounted on the frame 11 with its outer end projecting where it may be engaged by the finger of the operator. Normally, the end of arm 27b will be in the path of movement of fan blade 17 so that the motor mechanism may be locked, but when rod 3() is pulled outward, the end of arm 28 will be moved out of the path of movement of the fan blade 17 and the motor mechanism will then be released. f

The body mechanism of the device above described is shown as provided with a dresslike outer covering 31, with a doll head 32 and with hands 33; and for appearance sake, shells representing shoe uppers 34 are loosely applied around the lower ends of the legs so that the leg bars will not be exposed to view below the dress 31.

The operation of the toy described may be obvious from the foregoing description, but briefly summarized is as follows: lVhen the motor is released for action, the cranks 15 will be rotated and the legs will be given simultaneous movements in reverse directions. When a shoe is moved forward, the rollers 23 and 24 cause their trunnions 25 to run back in the slots 26 and hence to freely rotate, but under initial rearward movement, the said rollers move forward in respect to the shoes and their front portions engage, in the one instance with stops 27 and in the other with stops 28. When the roller 23 engages stop 27, it will be frictionally held against rotation, and when the notched or serrated periphery of roller 24 engages its stop cleat 28, it will be positively held against rotation. In both instances, however, the rollers will be free to rotate when a shoe is pushed forward and will be held against reverse rotation and hence will become a relatively iiXed base of reaction for the propulsion of the device in a forward direction. rlhe four rollers of the two shoes will always be kept in Contact with the iioor or ground surface and as the rollers of the two shoes are laterally spaced, preferably substantially the width of the figure supported therefrom, the figure or body will be well supported against forward, rearward or lateral tilting. The numeral 48 indicates tension springs anchored at their upper ends to the side of the frame 10 and at the lower ends connected to upper end extensions of certain of leg-forming bars 18. These springs exert a light yielding force tending to hold the legs in vertical positions and assisting in moving the legs from extreme forward and rearward positions back to vertical intermediate positions.

It will of course be understood that a considerably greater power is required to lnove the legs toward one another from their outermost positions, than is required to move their legs toward one another while they are in close proximity to their vertical or dead ccnter positions, this being due to the fact that the weight of the doll tends to spread the legs after they have moved in opposite directions beyond their dead center or verti cal positions, and this force increases as the legs move farther apart. In the absence of spring 48, the above described action will tend to make the toy run in a jerky manner, that is, the action of the legs will be slow during initial return movements toward their vertical positions and will be considerably accelerated during the outward movements, and in this case, the motor employed to oscillate the legs must at all times have enough power to overcome the weight of the toy during the return movements of the legs. lVhen the spring 48 is employed in the manner illustrated, the power required to oscilla-te the legs will be substantially the same in all positions of the legs for said spring exerts a maximum return tension on the legs when they are in their outermost position and becomes increasingly inactive as the legs approach their dead center or vertical positions and is practically inactive at their dead center position. Experiments have proven that with a given spring motor, the doll will travel considerably farther when the spring is employed than it will with the spring omitted, and the action of the legs will be much more uniform and smooth.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the legs formed by parallel bars are important features when the shoes are provided with longitudinally spaced rollers and all of which roll rs should be kept in Contact with the floor or ground. The toy shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive7 is provided with shoes, the front and rear rollers of which are in the same vertical plane, so that the toy will be propelled forward on a straight line. Obviously, by curving the shoes and setting the rollers on arcs of curves, the figures could be arranged to travel on the line of a curve.

In the modified device shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the body frame, the motor, the gear mechanism and all of the movable parts down to and including the cranks 15 are the same as in the figure previously described, and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, and hence all of the said parts up to and including said cranks 15 are indicated by the same numerals applied to the first described device. In the modified device however, the legs in lieu of the pivoted channel bars 18,

i are provided with like channel bars 18 that are rigidly connected by upper and lower heads 18b and 18C, the heads 18b being pivotally connected to the sides of the body frame at 18d. The lower heads 18c are provided with depending bifurcated shoes 35 formed in their prongs with short slots .36 in which the trunnions 37 of rollers or small wheels 38 are journaled with said rollers between the said prongs. In the leg` structure just described, the wrist pins of the cranks engage one with one channel bar 18EL of each leg and impart simultaneous movements to the legs in reverse directions. Also the legs are guided against lateral movement by the straps on the sides of the body frame 10. The body 10, at its lower portion, is provided with a rigidly secured rearwardly proj ecting bar 39 in which is pivoted a short upright post 40, shown as provided at its upper end with a knurled head 41 and provided at its lower end with a depending fork 42 in which a steering roller or wheel 43 is jeun naled. 48 indicates springs that perform the saine function as the springs 48 heretofore described.

Obviously, this third wheel 43 with the wheels 38 will support the body in an upright position while it is being moved forward. The line of travel of the device will be regu lated bythe setting of-the steering wheelf43.

To frictionally hold the fork 42 in any set position, a spring washer 44 is shown as interposed between the top of the fork 42 and the bottom of the bar 39. rI he numeral 45 indicates a projecting tail which would adapt the device when provided with a proper body, to represent certain animals such for example as a kangaroo or a dog walking on hind legs. The shoes 35 are provided with depending stop fianges 46 with which the upper portions of the rollers 38 are adapted to frictionally engage when the said rollers are moved forward in respect to the shoes by initial rearward movement of theshoe. When a. roller is thus engaged with a stop flange 46, it will be held against backward rotation so that the roller will then become a fixed base Vof reaction for preventing backward movement of said leg, while the other leg is being moved forward to cause the body to travel in a forward direction. The numeral 47 indicates a roller housing which may be of flexible material, and which is shown as in conical form and is applied one to each of the shoes 45.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that the one-way rotation of the rollers or wheels of the shoes is accomplished simply by engagement and disengagement of a roller with a fixed element on the Cio-.operating shoe, and without the use of a movable or third element, This means, while extremely simple, is highly efficient. From the statements above made, it is evident that the devices above described are capable of a wide range of modieation within the spirit of the invention herein disclosed and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a mechanical toy, a body, legs connected to said body for vibratory movement, foot members at the lower ends of said legs, rollers mounted in said foot members for rotary movements and for limited forward and rearward horizontal travellingmovementsin respect thereto, and stops on said foot members with which said rollers areengagedwhen moved horizontally forwardly, to thereby restrict rotation of said rollers, and from which said rollers are disengaged and freed for rotation when moved horizontally rearwardly in respect to said foot members.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which certain of said rollers have notched surfaces that interlockingly engage the cooperating stops.

3. The structure defined in claim l in which saidy foot members are provided with front and rear rollers, whereby said body will be supported in an upright position while travelling movement is being imparted thereto, and in which both front and rear rollers are free for limited horizontally forward and rearward travelling movements and are provided with co-operat-ing stops on the foot members.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 in which certain of said rollers have notched surfaces that interlockingly engage the cooperating stops, and in further combination with means mounted on said body for imparting vibratory movements to said legs.

5. In a mechanical device, oscillatory legs applied to the opposite sides of said body, rollers attached to the lower extremities of said legs, means for oscillating said legs, in line with said body, means for applying friction to said rollers when moved in one direction but allowing them to roll freely in the opposite direction, said means consisting of horizontally slotted foot members in which said rollers are directly mounted for free rotary movements and limited horizontally forward and rearward movements, said means for applying friction including stops on said foot members against which the peripheries of said rollers are engaged when moved forwardly in the slots of said foot members.

6. A mechanical device comprising a body having a pair of vibratory legs equipped with rollers and means for permitting the rollers to roll in one direction only, of yielding means operating on said legs and tending to move the same to intermediate positions.

7. In a mechanical toy, the combination with a body having a pair of pivoted depending legs equipped with rollers, and means for permitting the rollers to roll in one direction only, of spring means connected to said legs and tending to move the same to intermediate vertical positions.

8. In a toy, a body, legs connected to said body for oscillatory pivotal movements and equipped with rollers and means for permitting the rollers to roll in one direction only, means for oscillating the legs simultaneously in reverse directions, and yielding means operative on said legs and tending to move the same toward their intermediate positions.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

SIDNEY L. LONG. 

